Sa rupture
by ecrivons
Summary: The Duke loves her, but they're just two different people with two very different futures. (Toph and Duke break up).
1. Chapter 1

**We own nothing! **

**The cover picture belongs to whoever drew it! Its amazing! Kudos to the artist :)**

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**Sa rupture**

There was something off about today. She could feel it in the air and more importantly, in the earth. Was he shaking? Maybe she was interpreting his motions wrong. No way. The Duke was most definitely shaking.

Toph raised an eyebrow. "Is there something wrong?" she asked, crossing her arms.

The Duke leant against the wall of their shared apartment and shook his head. "Not at all, Chief Bei Fong. Why would you ask that?" He laughed a nervous laugh. Now that was suspicious.

"Chief Bei Fong?" Now, Toph definitely knew there was something wrong. "You know you don't have to call me that after work. Come on. It's our leisure time. Call me Toph."

The Duke shrugged "I don't think it would be proper. You are my boss," he replied with a nervous smile.

The earthbender stared at him momentarily before getting up from her chair and walking over to him. She punched him in the arm and stated, "Yeah, but more importantly, I'm your girlfriend."

The Duke chuckled nervously, and rubbed his arm. He ran a hand through his thick dark hair, and he gazed at the floor unable to look into her milky blue eyes. A pang of guilt pierced him.

She sensed something off about the other. He was hiding something and it was starting to bother her. Usually, they told each other everything and for him to suddenly hide something from her made her want to scream. Instead, she clenched her fists and glared. "What are you hiding?" she hissed.

The Duke threw his hands up in defense. He knew Toph was sensing his anxiety and distress. He lowered his hands and once more ran one of them through his hair. He sighed deeply, and briefly closed his eyes remembering his private talk with Lao a week earlier.

"_Duke? May I call you that? Quite frankly I think THE Duke is a bit improper don't you?" Lao asked as he sipped his tea. He set the china cup down, and looks at the boy in front of him. He raised an eyebrow as he analyzed his daughter's pathetic boyfriend. Indeed, he was well built and strong, but he looked like a low life peasant raised in a forest with a bunch of flying owl monkeys. He clears his throat, impatience for The Duke's answer. _

_The Duke looked up at Lao Bei Fong, his eyes partially glaring down on him. The Duke looked down on the table unable to keep his gaze. "I suppose so sir," he replied barely audible. Lao satisfied by his dominance took another sip of his tea. "Listen Duke. My daughter she...has big responsibilities. Her position as Chief has given her an opportunity to prosper and I believe that a proper man should aid her in her growth. You Duke, now don't get me wrong I have no doubt that you are a kind person, but you are a mere boy. And my daughter needs a man, someone who will help her, not hurt her." _

_The Duke kept his head down and nodded. "Yes sir...I think you're right."_

The Duke opened his eyes. He knew that Lao was right. Toph has a bright future, a future which gave her the chance to prosper, start a family, and be happy. He knew that he could never be the person to give her that happiness. He had to do it.

"Toph...I can't do this anymore," he said regretfully.

She was silent, head bowed, and shoulders hunched ever so slightly. She had to keep herself this way or else she might actually lash out and hurt him. Swallowing her sadness, she spoke a soft, "Why?"

The Duke looked away. "Your father thinks I'm holding you back and honestly, I can't help but agree. A relationship is nothing but a distraction from your work. You could do so much more if I'm not here to distract you. So...we're done."

"You idiot!" she yelled, punching him in the arm again. "I'm the blind one, yet you're the one who can't see that I love you. I... I need you. You're not a distraction. You help me push through the obstacles and get what needs to be done, done."

This was hard for him, but he knew it was best for Toph. He took a deep breath, and stood up straight. "Maybe I should just go. I'll uh... See you at work tomorrow, Chief."

"Wait! Duke, please think about what I said. I really meant it." She looked like she might start crying so he turned away from her.

"Maybe." And then he was gone.

Toph was left alone. For the first time in years, she felt fragile and alone again. She just wanted to curl up into a ball and cry. There went her one true love.

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**A/N**

**Mako and Maho here! So we wrote this piece late into the night...just a little something.**

**So how'd you guys like it? Shall we continue? **


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Merely hours had passed since The Duke had ripped Toph's heart right out of her chest and tore it to pieces. The leftover bits were scattered on the floor, metaphorically of course. For the longest time, Toph sat alone in the dark, wondering what just happened.

_He said he loved me. He said we'd be together forever. Why would he just let my father's words affect him so much?! Why did my father even have an affect on him!? Why did my father feel the need to stick his nose in my business anyways?! Did The Duke lie to me? What do I do now? _she thought to herself.

There was only one thing to do now. She stood up from her isolated seat and went into the kitchen. She dug around in the wooden cabinets until she found it. She popped the cork on some Fire Sake. She tossed the liquid back and downed it. There was no way she could cope without her alcohol.

The Duke wandered the streets for hours with his head down and his hands shoved into his pockets. He felt a great amount of guilt, but an even greater amount of loss, as he repeatedly though of Toph's hurt expression. _I'm the blind one, yet you're the one who can't see that I love you. _Her words echoed inside of him with no end. He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose, because of his frustration. Frustrated not at her, but at himself. He balled up his fists and let his thoughts get to him. _ You're so pathetic! You can't protect her...not like she needs it. No, thats not it_..._You can't make her happy...you can't you're not a man. She'll find someone else. She'll find- _The Duke stopped in his tracks and his frustration accumulated into anger. _She doesn't need you. No she doesn't because she'll find someone else. She will. Knowing Toph she'll-_ Finally, he let all his anger out and slammed his fist into the nearest lamppost. A sharp pain ran up through his wrist and he pulled away with a hiss. He looked down at his hand and tried to move his fingers. With a huff of defeat, he decided to seek out some help.

The Duke arrived in front of Pipsqueak's apartment and with his good hand he knocked on the door hoping for someone to answer. The Duke heard heavy footsteps and soon the door opened slightly with someone looking through.

"The Duke?" Pipsqueak asked in confusion.

"Yeah...hey uh I need your help Pip," The Duke replied looking down on the ground.

The door shut for a moment, but soon re-opened. The Duke entered with his injured hand clutched to his chest. The Pipsqueak took instant notice. "What happened to you?" he asked as he shut the door. The Duke, unable to meet his best friend's eyes, continued to stare at the ground. He sat on a chair and sighed deeply. "I broke up with Toph," he replied barely audible.

The sun woke The Duke up. He sat up and looked around the living room. The couch he had slept on for the past two nights was starting to hurt his lower back. Groaning, he got up and folded his blanket. He made his way to the kitchen to start making some breakfast for himself and Pipsqueak, who was kind enough to let him stay with him until he could find himself another place and offered him medical help. He wrapped his hand for him, as well. Today he was due back at work. He, thankfully, had the past two days off, but now it was time for him to man up and face the decision he made. He just hoped that Toph would be mature about this.

Work was hell. She had to swallow all her emotions and continue on as if nothing had happened. What made things easier for her was the fact that The Duke had two days in a row off. However, now he was due back to work and she knew that everyone was about to find out what had happened. Toph decided she was just going to ignore The Duke and continue on.

When The Duke entered the building, all eyes were on him. He felt like the entire force was staring at him as if he had murdered someone. He took his seat at his desk and went through some of the report files, trying to occupy himself before his thoughts took a hold of his mind once again.

"So what exactly did you do?" Smellerbee asked as she sat on his desk.

He looked up at her and felt guilt rip through him. He didn't think Toph would have told anyone so soon, let alone Smellerbee, but he figured there was no getting around it now. With a sigh, he cleared his throat and spoke up. "I did what had to be done."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, looking down at him like he was crazy. "I mean your hand, idiot."

"Oh," he said softly, letting out a sigh of relief. So maybe Toph hadn't told anyone. "I, uh, had an accident."

"That's not what Pip told me," she taunted. "You're not fooling anyone, Duke. What happened?"

He shrugged. "You should probably get back to work before the Chief yells at you."

"The Chief? Uh, yeah, okay. Whatever you say." She hopped down off of his desk and went to talk with her partner, Longshot.

The Duke knew that if this was how the day was going to start, it was going to be a long, difficult day. So, he threw himself into his work immediately. It was the best kind of distraction… That was until Toph entered the room, reminding everyone about today's meeting. How could he forget? This had been planned for months!

_Ah great. Just what I need. A painful meeting with everyone in one room. The worst part is, I _have_ to sit next to her. Crap._ he thought to himself as he looked for his memos for the meeting. What was the meeting even about again? Oh yeah! Fighting crime more efficiently and getting on the good side of the media. That proved to be more and more difficult with their current force. All the females weren't exactly the kindest, most cheerful people. Then the majority of the boys were quiet and reserved. The media viewed them all as bad, corrupt cops, despite the fact that their intentions were to keep the city safe.

The Duke rushed out of the meeting room. He had had enough of that. The meeting was painfully drawn out and no one spoke to anyone. It was almost like the entire force had a break up. Toph had briefed them on how to more effectively handcuff perpetrators without it looking too inhumane and as she spoke, she never once looked at The Duke. He felt ignored and isolated from everyone else.

He retreated back to his desk and went through his paperwork. After a couple hours, he felt overwhelmed with it. Standing up, he made his way to the employee's lounge for a break to help clear his mind. He glanced outside and was surprised by how late it was. At least the day was coming to an end. It was all smooth sailing from here, or so he thought.

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**A/N **

**Mako and Maho here! Thanks to all for being so supportive! (Shout out to Kai who questioned "Mako?" "Maho?" it will always be both. Until next time:) **


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